Florida 6-11 freshman center Gorjok Gak ruled eligible for 2016-17

Bob Hille

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Florida 6-11 freshman center Gorjok Gak ruled eligible for 2016-17 image

The NCAA on Thursday restored 6-11 Florida freshman Gorjok Gak's eligibility, leaving him free to join the Gators for their opener Friday night, the school announced.

Florida opens against Florida Gulf Coast in Jacksonville.

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Gak, a three-star prospect rated the No. 25 center in the nation, signed with Florida last spring but was declared ineligible this summer because of questions about how many games he played at Bradenton (Fla.) Victory Rock Prep after arriving from his native Australia.

The NCAA initially ruled that Gak could enroll at Florida and practice with the team but wouldn't be eligible to play until his sophomore year, when he would have three seasons of eligibility remaining. 

Florida's compliance office filed a waiver to appeal the ruling, which led to Thursday's reversal.

"We'll take it slow with him," Gators coach Mike White said, "but we really like his ceiling as a player. Great kid, too." 

Gak averaged 13.9 points and 9.3 rebounds at Victory Rock before signing last fall with Oklahoma State. He was released from his letter-of-intent after Cowboys coach Travis Ford was fired at the end of the 2015-16 season.

 

Bob Hille

Bob Hille Photo

Bob Hille, a senior content consultant for The Sporting News, has been part of the TSN team for most of the past 30 years, including as managing editor and executive editor. He is a native of Texas (forever), adopted son of Colorado, where he graduated from Colorado State, and longtime fan of “Bull Durham” (h/t Annie Savoy for The Sporting News mention).